Nielsen Schuh Architects HOUSE FOR A NEW BEGINNING
Description
The most destructive of the recent California Wine Country wildfires swept through the surroundings like a blast furnace, leaving houses and vegetation decimated. What had been a stunning natural landscape was left charred and forever altered. In a few short hours, our clients lost their house and all belongings on their nearby property, but they remained determined to build anew. Rather than rebuild on their original property, they found a neighboring site, which was also burned, to help begin their lives anew. Prior to the fire, this property had been dominated by a massive white stucco house, surrounding a generous pool. The original house was perched on a graded bench, commanding both a view and attention from the valley below. This was the obvious place to build again, in order to minimize additional disturbance to the site, take advantage of the relative privacy, distant views and the pool, which we planned to restore. We also saw an opportunity to build the new house in a way that was more in scale with the recovering landscape - and that would fit within the setting, rather than dominate it. While embracing the wild surroundings both near and far, the new house design has a priority of fire resistance. Noncombustible materials are celebrated here; stone walls and metal cladding buffer, shelter and protect. The more opaque North façade of the house stands as a shield to approaching wildfires, which historically run from that direction. Any exposed exterior wood is limited to the ceilings overlaying a fire barrier. The wood provides a warm contrast to the more rugged cladding materials. No vents or openings are included that would allow fire to enter the structure, as occurred in many of the lost buildings. The solar-heated pool provides an on-site emergency water source. In addition to precautions for fire, the building's glazing and insulation surpass California’s strict energy requirements. Solar collectors heat domestic water and radiant floors, photovoltaics and battery storage provide power and energy security. A gray water system is set up for future landscape irrigation. Approaching the house, the vista beyond is hidden, as the house shields it, and captures the arrival setting. An undulating CorTen block acts as both a visual and fire barrier, that unfolds inward to shape the the inset entry, and extends outward to shelter the parking area. The pitched upper roof floats above a layer of glass, suggesting the lit space beyond. Entering the house, a vast view opens across the pool. The planning includes both a compact, attached bedroom wing and and a master bedroom within a separate structure. The wings loosely frame in the open living-dining-kitchen space and the outdoor pool area. The rooflines extend outward, sheltering the outdoor spaces during rainy or hot sunny days. The rocky, rugged land has mostly been left to rejuvenate on its own — it’s a long term process of recovery. Some of the site’s magnificent oaks are recovering, others are only just holding on. But along with the oaks, a few surprising clusters of flowering plants have miraculously returned, after the fire.
Architect
Photography
Ethan Gordon
Description
The most destructive of the recent California Wine Country wildfires swept through the surroundings like a blast furnace, leaving houses and vegetation decimated. What had been a stunning natural landscape was left charred and forever altered. In a few short hours, our clients lost their house and all belongings on their nearby property, but they remained determined to build anew. Rather than rebuild on their original property, they found a neighboring site, which was also burned, to help begin their lives anew. Prior to the fire, this property had been dominated by a massive white stucco house, surrounding a generous pool. The original house was perched on a graded bench, commanding both a view and attention from the valley below. This was the obvious place to build again, in order to minimize additional disturbance to the site, take advantage of the relative privacy, distant views and the pool, which we planned to restore. We also saw an opportunity to build the new house in a way that was more in scale with the recovering landscape - and that would fit within the setting, rather than dominate it. While embracing the wild surroundings both near and far, the new house design has a priority of fire resistance. Noncombustible materials are celebrated here; stone walls and metal cladding buffer, shelter and protect. The more opaque North façade of the house stands as a shield to approaching wildfires, which historically run from that direction. Any exposed exterior wood is limited to the ceilings overlaying a fire barrier. The wood provides a warm contrast to the more rugged cladding materials. No vents or openings are included that would allow fire to enter the structure, as occurred in many of the lost buildings. The solar-heated pool provides an on-site emergency water source. In addition to precautions for fire, the building's glazing and insulation surpass California’s strict energy requirements. Solar collectors heat domestic water and radiant floors, photovoltaics and battery storage provide power and energy security. A gray water system is set up for future landscape irrigation. Approaching the house, the vista beyond is hidden, as the house shields it, and captures the arrival setting. An undulating CorTen block acts as both a visual and fire barrier, that unfolds inward to shape the the inset entry, and extends outward to shelter the parking area. The pitched upper roof floats above a layer of glass, suggesting the lit space beyond. Entering the house, a vast view opens across the pool. The planning includes both a compact, attached bedroom wing and and a master bedroom within a separate structure. The wings loosely frame in the open living-dining-kitchen space and the outdoor pool area. The rooflines extend outward, sheltering the outdoor spaces during rainy or hot sunny days. The rocky, rugged land has mostly been left to rejuvenate on its own — it’s a long term process of recovery. Some of the site’s magnificent oaks are recovering, others are only just holding on. But along with the oaks, a few surprising clusters of flowering plants have miraculously returned, after the fire.
Architect
Photography
Ethan Gordon
